At-Home, Cell-Free Synthetic Biology Education Modules for Transcriptional Regulation and Environmental Water Quality Monitoring.
ACS Synth Biol
; 12(10): 2909-2921, 2023 10 20.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37699423
ABSTRACT
As the field of synthetic biology expands, the need to grow and train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) practitioners is essential. However, the lack of access to hands-on demonstrations has led to inequalities of opportunity and practice. In addition, there is a gap in providing content that enables students to make their own bioengineered systems. To address these challenges, we develop four shelf-stable cell-free biosensing educational modules that work by simply adding water and DNA to freeze-dried crude extracts of non-pathogenic Escherichia coli. We introduce activities and supporting curricula to teach the structure and function of the lac operon, dose-responsive behavior, considerations for biosensor outputs, and a "build-your-own" activity for monitoring environmental contaminants in water. We piloted these modules with K-12 teachers and 130 high-school students in their classroomsâand at homeâwithout professional laboratory equipment. This work promises to catalyze access to interactive synthetic biology education opportunities.
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Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Qualidade da Água
/
Biologia Sintética
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article